New Custom Order Done

But first, I just have to tell you about a give away that is going on NOW, friends!! Carol Dean Sharpe, of SandFibers, is having a lovely give away from her blog site to celebrate 1000 sales in her Etsy shop!! Please do enter, Carol is an amazing bead artist and you will be sooooooooo glad you did: http://sandfibers.blogspot.com/2010/01/first-sand-fibers-1000-giveaway.html

The first photo above is of my first right angle weave collar. I loved the bead colors and was trying to think of what I wanted to use them for, and then suddenly I found this lovely honey onyx cabochon on Etsy, and HAD to get it; this was the result!!

I have been working away trying to get an order done for two months now - it took longer than usual because of the holidays, and having to find time to make a few gifts as well. My customer is fantastic, and a very sweet person. She sends cabochons that she has collected to me, along with a few beads that she would like included in her jewelry, and then gives me complete license to make whatever I feel looks good. Who could ask for more?! This time, I am making something small to give to her with her other items as a thank you for all of her business and for a gift she gave to me with her last order. The cabochons she provided this time were really gorgeous, and her color choices were terrific! Usually she prefers the asymmetrical look to things, but one of the cabs just screamed at me that it had to be symmetrical, so one cuff sports the same design on both sides. I made up for it by making sure the other was as she likes it and that the necklace was as well. I am a little nervous that she may not like the symmetrical one as well as the others, but I just couldn't get it to work any other way. When we were finally able to get some photos of finished work, I was SO pleased to be able to share them at last!! I named this one Painted Desert:

The next one is the asymmetrical one, which I think she will like more, named Copperclad:

And here is the necklace, Moonrise, which is in a new direction for me creatively, which made it even more fun to make:

I should be shipping these out to her this week, and crossing my fingers that she will like them all!!

All in all, it was a really hectic set of holidays this time, and I am relieved that it is over with finally. Now I am trying to get back into my normal scehdule and find some time to clean up the house and so on after all the ruckus. I am finding it a little harder than usual to get my creativity up and going, although as I type I am looking at a nice bead soup on my bead mat in dark blue and purple iris colors with some silver thrown in, and a dichroic cab...maybe I will get there sooner than I think! But it's hard to choose, as I also have a large pile of custom made polymer clay leaves and cabs (by Chris at Mandarin Moon on Etsy - check her out, she is AMAZING) that are waiting for me to begin my second embroidered collar...

I had some good news in that I have been accepted into the Etsy Beadweavers Team, which I had been thinking of trying for all last year, and I am THRILLED to be part of it now! It is a wonderful new way to feel involved in the beading community, and they have been excellent to me, giving me a very warm welcome, hearting my shop (Thanks!!) and generally answering any questions I have had. Please do search for the EBW tag on Etsy and see all of the gorgeous things being made by the members!!

I am also looking forward this next week to updating my website with some of my newer creations and maybe changing the style a little on the overall composition of the pages. But for now, I better get going on that housework!